Is PVC a significant source of dioxin?
PVC pipe contains no dioxin. The principal sources of dioxin in the western world are municipal and medical waste incinerators – particularly older facilities. In Australia the incinerators are few in number and relatively new and have been engineered to produce very little dioxin. An investigation for Environment Australia in 1998 found that 60-80% of dioxin emissions to air in Australia arise from agricultural burning off, residential wood combustion and bushfires. Waste incinerators and halogen chemical manufacture (including chlorine and PVC production), together contribute less than 1% to the total. This report is available on-line at http://www.ea.gov.au/industry/chemicals/dioxins/pubs/dioxins.pdf. Other more significant dioxin sources include the combustion of coal, ferrous and non ferrous metal manufacture and internal combustion engines. The level of dioxins in the global environment peaked in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Japanese Government data shows that daily human inta
